Aw, Hell, The King
by Toripocalypse
Summary: One night while inspiriting, Matenshi runs into someone from his past who turns his young life upside down.
1. Little Angel

_Author's Note:_

 _Alright, after being asked by several people to put this up here, I figured, why not! First order of business is that this story is a little bit self inserty, but it's just with me and one other friend, very briefly at the start. This takes place in a universe where we have watches and live with yokai, but this isn't about us. This is about the yokai in our lives, so no worries in that department._

 _Second order of business is that I chose to use Japanese names for yokai in this story for the most part, and I use yokai from YW2 and YW3. I'll make a quick reference for the names of yokai that have confirmed English names so far right here._

 _Matenshi - K'mon-K'mon_

 _Meramelion - Blazion_

 _Manojishi - Lie-in Heart_

 _Urayameshi - Wotchagot_

 _Zashiki Warashin - High Gnomey_

 _Fuumin - Insomni_

 _Sorry for any confusion. I really hope you enjoy this._

 _"What were you like when you were alive?"_

That was a question that many yokai heard all too often. So many yokai had a painful past and ached to find others with similar stories. Others were born as yokai and had no idea what it was like to walk among humans as fully corporeal flesh and blood. Others, well, others were just nosy and needed to mind their own business.

No matter who, what, or where the question came from, Matenshi was absolutely sick of hearing it.

Urayameshi, his adoptive brother, had just asked him, his nubby little hands clenched into something resembling fists as he leaned forward in interest, his eyes shining. Puffing his cheeks out in irritation, Matenshi looked down at the unopened cup of pudding in front of him and tore the lid off, pretending it was Urayameshi's face.

"Why are you pouting?" Urayameshi's smile faded and he folded his arms. "I just asked a question!" Urayameshi's eyes flicked down to Matenshi's pudding and Matenshi groaned, swishing a spoonful up and jamming it into his brother's mouth before he even asked. "Fank nyou." Urayameshi mumbled around the spoon.

Matenshi yanked the spoon out of Urayameshi's mouth a bit too roughly. "You're not getting any more."

Urayameshi closed his eyes blissfully for a moment before they shot open in realization. He gulped down the pudding and squeaked out "D-don't change the subject! I just wanna know what your life was like! I don't think I was ever alive, so..."

"I DON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING, OKAY?! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Matenshi slammed his fist on the table.

"MATENSHI! DON'T YELL AT YOUR BROTHER!" Tori's voice called from the other room. Matenshi's face burned and he slammed it on the table, wrapping his arms around his head.

"Gee, if I knew you were gonna be this touchy, I wouldn't have asked." Urayameshi pouted, folding his nubby little arms again. He floated off, trying to sneakily grab Matenshi's pudding in the process, but Matenshi's arm shot up and grabbed Urayameshi right by the tail.

"Eep!" Urayameshi looked backwards and he found himself gazing right into the eyes of a hellbeast.

"Don't. Touch. That." _Oh, Matenshi was the hellbeast._ Urayameshi should have known.

"I won't, I won't!" Urayameshi tugged at his tail until Matenshi finally let him go. He floated out of the room as fast as he could, leaving Matenshi alone in the kitchen.

Matenshi wasn't going to dwell on Urayameshi's question. After "hmph"-ing at no one in particular, he dug into his snack, turning his thoughts to where he was going later.

A new game was being released at midnight, a gory, gritty affair that was popular with college boys. College boys loooooved to fight, and Matenshi was aching to stir up some trouble. It had been too long since he got in any proper inspirits, and yokai needed to inspirit as much as they needed to sleep. He was starting to feel really on edge… well, more on edge than usual. But he knew tonight he'd get enough inspirits to last him a long while.

Tossing his empty pudding cup in the trash, he turned the corner into the living room, where Tori was resting on the couch with Okomusha dozing on her knee. She was absent-mindedly stroking his hair. Manojishi was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed and his arms folded, no doubt thinking about something stupid, Matenshi thought.

"I'm goin' out!" Matenshi announced, jogging towards the door. "WAH!" Matenshi squeaked when he felt someone grab his belt from behind. Puffing out his cheeks, he glared over his shoulder and saw that Manojishi was the one who grabbed him. "Whaddaya want? I got places to go."

Manojishi's eyes snapped open, chilling Matenshi to his very core. "You're not going anywhere without a coat."

Tori shushed the both of them, pointing at the dozing Okomusha. Sighing a bit, she mouthed "thank you" at Manojishi.

"I can't believe you're letting him go out this late…" Manojishi grumbled, grabbing a tiny, puffy coat off the coat rack with the hand that wasn't gripping Matenshi. Matenshi was squirming and flapping his wings, but he wasn't going anywhere.

Tori just gave a sheepish smile and shrugged her shoulders.

Manojishi finally let go of Matenshi and Matenshi snatched the coat from his hand, throwing it on before making a beeline for the door.

"Be safe…!" Tori called as loudly as she could without disturbing Okomusha.

"Yeah, yeah…" Matenshi yanked the door open and took off into the night, not even bothering to shut it behind him.

Manojishi took it upon himself to close the door and lock it behind the little angel. "Do you want me to follow him?" he offered, crooking an eyebrow questioningly at Tori.

Tori shook her head. "He'll be fine. He's a responsible little man."

Manojishi moved the curtain aside and sighed in annoyance. "He threw his coat on the lawn."

Tori laughed nervously, her face reddening. "... did I say responsible? I meant tough. He's done this a million times, Manojishi."

"Let me know if you change your mind," Manojishi let go of the curtain and it swished back to where it was supposed to be.

"He'll. Be. Fine." Tori insisted.


	2. Big Brother

"Whoa!" Matenshi's eyes widened to the size of two miniature full moons as he took in the line outside the game store. He had never seen a line of humans this long!

A smirk spread across his chubby little face. He couldn't wait to mess it up!

He scanned the line and found a tall, burly guy in a college sweater who was caught up in checking something on his phone. Now THAT was a guy who could break down the door… and maybe break a few legs!

Matenshi wasn't interested in the game himself, but he was definitely eager to mess with such a wonderfully long line. Using his little wings to boost himself up, he leapt onto the big guy's shoulders and grabbed two fistfuls of his hair, inspiriting him with ease.

The guy dropped his phone, his eyes flashing with rage as he ground his teeth. "I'M SICK OF WAITING!" he shouted, muscling forward in the line much to the annoyance and protest of everyone in front of him.

Matenshi laughed uproariously as the man made his way to the front of the line, giving everyone who tried to stop him bumps and bruises, slamming one guy into a wall as he shoved him aside. This was the first time Matenshi ever got to inspirit someone this huge, and in such a long line, too! Matenshi usually had to go for kids waiting for their lunch or boring stuff like that.

"This is what I'm talkin' about!" Matenshi cackled aloud as his victim made his way to the game store's front doors.

There was another guy there, a guy huge in stature and weight, who looked alarmingly pissed. Matenshi's victim stopped in his tracks when he saw this guy, his eyes widening.

"Hey, hey! Come on, come on!" Matenshi punched at the guy's head, even though he knew he couldn't feel it. "Beat him up too!"

Before the guy Matenshi was inspiriting could even take a step forward, the other guy lifted up the trash can by the curb and slammed it against the glass doors, shattering them with a loud _CRASH!_

Matenshi's guy fell backwards in shock, sending Matenshi tumbling off his shoulders. Matenshi landed right on his butt and shouted in both frustration and pain. _What the heck?! What had gotten into him?!_

Blinking back tears, Matenshi looked behind him at the rest of the line… or what remained of it. Mostly everyone had run off and a few lingered behind, either agape with shock or filming what was going on with their phones.

Matenshi couldn't help feeling disappointed that he only had a small part to do with this chaos. Punching the ground, he staggered to his feet, letting a few tears roll down his cheeks. He looked back at the two men in front of the store, the guy he inspirited in a state of shocked, horrified confusion, and the man who had broken the door moved to rush into the store, not even caring about the broken glass.

As soon as the huge guy stepped aside, he revealed a smirking yokai behind him that was-

Wait.

 _Wait._

 _WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT._

The yokai was tall and intimidating, but that wasn't what got Matenshi's attention. He was clearly an angel yokai, like Matenshi, with wings on his head as well as on his back. Even more alarmingly, his red curls bore a striking resemblance to Matenshi's blonde ones and their skin tones were the same light blue. He even had a halo stuck in his hair! Matenshi had never seen anything like that on another yokai before.

 _Something was weird._ Matenshi took a step back, his brow furrowed and his tears gone.

The tall yokai finally noticed him just as police sirens started to wail in the distance. His smirk disappeared and his lips parted, his eyes widening with shock.

"You're…" He was obviously just as stunned as Matenshi was.

The sirens got closer and the yokai glared in the police car's direction. "UGH, I can't hear myself think! Come with me!"

Without hesitation, the yokai scooped Matenshi up in his arms and spread his wings, taking off into the sky.

"WAUGH! HEY, PUT ME DOWN, YOU WEIRDO!" Matenshi punched at the yokai's chest, but he didn't show any signs of slowing down. "I DON'T KNOW YOU! LET ME GO!"

The other angel yokai didn't even look down at him. Matenshi kept protesting, but everything he said fell on deaf ears. Before Matenshi knew it, the bigger yokai touched down on the roof of a house, putting Matenshi down surprisingly carefully before kneeling down next to him.

"What are you doing?! Who _are_ you?! Why do you look so much like me?! Why'd you pick me up?!" Matenshi had way too many questions and he couldn't stop them from all coming out at once.

"Calm down, kid!" The yokai huffed in annoyance.

"I'm not calming down!" Matenshi kicked the bigger yokai in the knee. "Take me off this roof RIGHT NOW!"

"HEY!" The bigger yokai firmly grabbed Matenshi's arms and glared right into his eyes. Matenshi glared right back.

The older yokai's glare didn't last long, though. His expression softened and he let out another huge sigh. "Okay, I wasn't sure before, but now I'm _completely_ sure. Wow."

"Sure of what?!" Matenshi puffed out his cheeks. He had just met this guy and he was already sick of him.

The older yokai let Matenshi go, shifting a bit. "God, I've never not known what to say before. This is weird. Uh…" He heaved yet another sigh and decided to cut right to the chase. "I'm your big brother."

Matenshi's jaw dropped. For once in his young life, he was completely at a loss for words.

"But I don't get it… you're supposed to be alive! Why are you a yokai?!" Matenshi may have been imagining it, but he could have sworn that the older yokai's voice sounded a little choked up.

"Hold on! What do you mean I'm supposed to be alive?!" Matenshi's brain felt like it was filled with TV static. "Who even ARE you?!"

"I SAID I'm your big brother!" The older yokai sighed again. "Ugh, I hate explaining crap like this. My name's Matenou, for starters. And you're…?"

"Matenshi," Matenshi's knees were wobbling, he sat down in hopes of curbing his anxiety just a little bit. "How can you be my big brother?! You're so old! And I never even heard of you before!"

"HEY, I'm not old!" Matenou folded his arms across his broad chest, giving Matenshi another petulant glare. "Look, I'm gonna cut to the chase, we met once. You were a baby and I had already been a yokai for a looooong time. But I don't understand why you're one too now- oh… wait."

Realization dawned on Matenou's face and he averted his gaze from Matenshi, clapping a hand over his mouth. "I think I do…" Matenou's muffled voice cracked a bit.

Matenshi didn't get it, and it was written all over his little face. That didn't escape Matenou, he scrubbed at his eyes and turned back to his baby brother. "I'll… tell you when you're older. But!" Matenou went from zero to a hundred very quickly, a confident smirk crossing his face. "Now we're back together! You have a lot to live up to, little man!" Matenou clapped Matenshi on the back a bit too hard, almost sending him careening off the roof.

"I-I dunno…" Matenshi scooted away from Matenou, eyeing him with suspicion. "I need some kinda proof!"

Matenou slammed a palm into his forehead and slid it down his face. "Are you serious? Just LOOK at us!" Matenou gestured wildly to his hair. "I've NEVER seen anyone else with curls like mine until today!"

"Mom always told me not to trust strangers… but I believe you," Matenshi messed with his own curls, averting his eyes. "A big brother, huh…?" A small, genuine smile crossed Matenshi's lips.

Matenou felt like someone punched him right in the heart. He quickly averted his eyes and covered his mouth. _What the hell?!_ He thought frantically. _That never happened before…! WAIT HOLD UP_

"'Mom?'" Matenou turned back to his little brother, crooking an eyebrow.

"Did you think I was some kind of hobo kid?!" Matenshi's smile changed right back to his trademark frown. "I have a mom! She adopted me a while ago."

"Well, you don't need her anymore!" Matenou leaned over and gripped Matenshi's tiny shoulders. "I'm king of the Realm of Impatience, and you're a prince! My subjects are going to be _THRILLED_ to hear about you!"

Matenshi's head was spinning. The only response he could muster was a very eloquent "Hah?"

"Come on, don't make me explain it again!" Matenou huffed.

"No, I heard you! I'm just confused!" Matenshi squirmed his shoulders out of Matenou's grip. "You're a king?! I never even heard of the Realm of Impatience before! It sounds like you made that up!"

"What? No way!" Matenou exclaimed in disbelief. "If you were inspiriting people in that line, you and I definitely have similar powers. And you never heard of my kingdom? That's impossible!"

"It's true!" Matenshi protested. "I'm only seven, and I, like, NEVER go to the Yokai World! I don't know about any of those places!"

"Well, you're gonna hear of it now!" Matenou picked Matenshi up again but, before he could take off, Matenshi slammed his foot right into Matenou's groin.

Matenou screeched a word that Matenshi wasn't allowed to say and dropped him, falling onto his side. Matenshi whirled his arms in an attempt to regain his balance, and barely succeeded. He folded his arms and loomed over his writhing elder brother, glaring down at him.

"I'm not going _anywhere_ with you yet! Not without someone I know!" Matenshi insisted.

"Who…?" Matenou's voice was a pitiful squeak as he curled up into the fetal position.

Matenshi smirked, happy about already finding his big brother's weakness. "We're gonna pay a visit to a friend of my mom's. And if you complain, I'm gonna kick you there again."

Matenou groaned, but made a noise of compliance.

Matenshi nodded in approval, trying not to think about how hard his little heart was pounding. There was too much going on… but he wasn't going to lie. He liked the idea of being royalty.


	3. Your Heinous Highness

It didn't take long for Matenou to fly to the place Matenshi wanted him to go. They touched down outside of a large, cute house with a small garden in front of it.

"They better be awake," Matenou grumbled. "I want to take you to my realm already!"

"Considering who lives here, I'm sure almost all of 'em are up," Matenshi stood on his tip-toes, but couldn't reach the doorbell. "Crud! Hey, big br-"

Before Matenshi could even get the request out Matenou leaned over him and rapidly jammed his finger against the poor doorbell over and over. Matenshi could hear muffled staccato _dings_ and _dongs_ ringing through the house.

"I think they heard-" Matenshi looked up at his still ding-donging brother to see that he was completely red faced and sweaty. Matenshi's brows furrowed. _Why is he in such a hurry?! Weirdo._

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Geez, cut that out!" Matenshi heard his mom's friend yell from inside the house, trying in vain to be heard over Matenou's doorbell cacophony.

"Matenou!" Matenshi pinched the back of his brother's knee and Matenou finally stopped pulverizing the doorbell.

"Ow! Don't pinch me!" Matenou glared down at his little brother and Matenshi glared right back, sticking out his little blue tongue. Matenou had heard that little brothers were pests, but he didn't expect pinching or groin obliteration. Matenou really hoped Matenshi wouldn't make a habit out of the second one.

The door opened and a pajama-clad human with a shock of pink hair poked her head out into the night, looking around in bewilderment. Realization dawned in her eyes as she lifted her wrist and pressed a button on the side of a pink Yokai Watch. She shined the light all over her yard and eventually the light swept over the angel brothers, who were still locked in a glaring match.

"Matenshi…?" She asked, taking a cautious step toward him. "And… oh."

The human slowly swept the light over Matenou from head to toe, her face one of complete wonder. _What the heck… is she drooling?!_ Matenshi looked over at Matenou, who straightened up and rested a hand on a hip while the light poured over him. _Why isn't he complaining… God, grown-ups are so weird._

"This your mom's friend?" Matenou asked, jerking his head in the human's direction.

"No, it's some rando with a watch," Matenshi rolled his eyes.

Matenou sucked in a deep breath and slammed his hands against his temples. "Then WHY did you MAKE ME COME H-"

"I'm JOKING, STUPID!" Matenshi stomped his foot. "Calm down! This is who I was talking about! Cross my heart and hope to die!"

"Matenshi…" Matenshi's human friend's eyes were darting back and forth between the brothers. "Who is this?"

"I'm Matenou, and I've got places to be, so let's make this quick!" The wings on Matenou's head were flitting wildly and he was tapping his foot at a speed Matenshi never managed to achieve.

Matenshi sidled over to the human and beckoned her down to his level. "He's my big brother," he whispered. "He just found me today. He's weird."

"What?! No way!" The human jumped back up, a grin spreading across her face. "This is your big brother, Matenshi?!"

As soon as the words were out of the human's mouth, a pretty purple yokai whooshed herself to her side, her single eye wide with curiosity. _Oh, God, Fuumin._ Matenshi turned red, the last thing he wanted was for his new older brother to embarrass him in front of his yokai peers.

"Ohmigosh, Car, you weren't kidding!" Fuumin giggled at the human as she gave Matenou a once over. "The resemblance is uncanny~ This is the last thing I expected to see tonight!"

"Car?" Matenou echoed, raising a brow.

"That's my name," The human shrugged, a nervous smile crossing her face. "Well, my nickname, anyway,"

"That's a dumb name," Matenou stated.

Car's smile fell and Fuumin burst into laughter. "HAH, Matenshi's more mature than this guy is!" She said around her guffaws.

Matenou folded his arms, the wings on his head flapping furiously. "Matenshi, let's quit beating around the bush! Where's the friend you were talking about?!"

"Quit being a big fat jerk!" Matenshi pinched the back of Matenou's knee and Matenou hissed through clenched teeth. Huffing, he looked up at Car. "Is Zashiki Warashin awake? Me and Matenou are going to his kingdom and-"

"Kingdom?!" Car and Fuumin chorused.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a king, go get Zebra Waffle or whatever his name is," Matenou waved Car and Fuumin off, the wings on his head still flapping.

Car rolled her eyes and disappeared into the house. "See you later, cutie pie," Fuumin gave Matenshi a little wave and followed her human friend back inside.

"They better not be long…" Matenou hissed through clenched teeth.

Matenshi hoped the same. He was more than eager to get going.

He stretched his chubby little arms above his head and sucked in an enormous yawn. His legs were starting to feel wobbly… how late _was_ it?!

 _There's no way he's gonna let me go home and sleep,_ Matenshi turned his weary gaze to his brother, sizing him up after a sleepy blink.

Matenou's face was red again, and he was tapping his foot at mach speed. Matenshi had no idea how the straps of Matenou's sandals weren't breaking.

It didn't take long for Car to return with a very yawny, pajama-clad Zashiki Warashin in tow. The red drained from Matenou's face and he huffed a sigh, rapidly tapping his wrist as he squinted at Car. "Hey, human, summon a Mirapo!"

"You're not even going to introduce yourself?" Car squinted right back. "And Zashiki's still in his pajamas! He can't go out like this!"

"ARGH, I'm SO SICK of all this!" Matenou yanked the wings on his head. "DELAY AFTER DELAY AFTER DELAY!"

Car gave Matenshi a quick glance. He had his thumbnail in his mouth and his cheeks were pink. Car never thought she would see the day where Matenshi was experiencing secondhand embarrassment, especially since he was a notorious tantrum thrower himself.

Zashiki Warashin didn't seem deterred by Matenou's angry ranting. He moved closer to him and beamed up at him, his smile pure and from the heart. "It's nice to meet you~"

Matenou stopped mid-tantrum, his eyebrows rising in surprise. "Uh… yeah, same."

Matenshi breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll summon Mirapo after Zashiki gets changed," Car stated, her tone final. It was pretty obvious why Matenshi wanted Zashiki to come with him, with a brother _that_ irritating, having Zashiki's calming aura around would be a big help. _Matenshi's smarter than I thought…_ Car shook her head a bit, still in complete disbelief over this whole situation.

Mere minutes later, Car and Zashiki returned, Zashiki in his usual attire with his staff in hand, a broad smile on his face in spite of his sleepiness.

"Ugh, _finally,"_ Matenou huffed. Glaring at Car, he demanded: "Summon-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on," Car waved Matenou off as she stuck Mirapo's medal into her watch.

The very second the Mirapo arrived, Matenou started barking orders at it. While he was shouting at the poor Mirapo, Zashiki edged closer to Matenshi and whispered: "So… who is this guy?"

Matenshi swallowed a yawn. "He's my older brother, apparently."

Zashiki looked back and forth between Matenshi and Matenou before giving Matenshi a beaming smile. "Well, you look a lot alike, but you're definitely a whole lot nicer than he is."

Matenshi averted his eyes from Zashiki in embarrassment, but Zashiki caught a tiny grin crossing Matenshi's face.

"Okay, kids, c'mon c'mon!" Matenou darted over to Matenshi and Zashiki, picking them both up and holding them under his arms as if he were a bellhop carrying luggage. "No time to waste!"

Zashiki and Matenshi both shouted in surprise, but Matenou wasn't listening. He leaned over and sprinted towards the poor, shellshocked Mirapo.

Once another Mirapo spat the three out into an enormous, extravagant foyer, Matenou took a deep breath and set the children down. "Okay, we're here-whuh?!"

Both Matenshi and Zashiki had fallen asleep, a combination of the late hour and the shock of the sudden warp.

Matenou barely suppressed the urge to scream, clapping both of his hands over his mouth. He had never dealt with kids before; these two were driving him up the wall. All he wanted was to introduce Matenshi to the kingdom! Why did there have to be so many delays?!

Matenou's eyes quickly wandered to one of the many picture windows in the foyer and he sighed heavily.

 _Right,_ he thought, folding his thick arms. _It's four in the morning._

Matenou was pretty tired himself… at least time would go faster when he was sleeping. He turned his attention back to the children, crouching down to their level.

Matenshi's face was twisted into a grimace even as he slept, and Zashiki Warashin still wore a giant smile. Matenou had no idea how he could move these brats without waking them. Not to mention if Matenshi was anything like him, he'd be a terrifying beast when rudely awakened.

"Guess I need a more delicate touch…" Matenou straightened up, mumbling under his breath. "Wonder if Granny's still up…"


	4. Little Prince

Matenshi opened his eyes, light flooding into them far too quickly and his vision going completely white. Groaning, he turned over onto his side, squeezing his eyes shut and slapping his hand over them. He stayed up later than he ever did last night, and he felt like he was waking up on the wrong side of the bed.

Opening his eyes again and letting them adjust to the light, Matenshi sat up in the bed and looked around the room. It was ornate and pretty, but didn't look very lived in. Matenou never had many guests, so the guest rooms of the castle were positively pristine. Zashiki Warashin was at his side, holding onto a pillow and quietly snoring, still dead asleep. Matenshi knew it would be mean to wake him up, so the thought only crossed his mind for a millisecond.

Matenshi wasn't really in the mood to appreciate the luxuries of royal life. He wasn't looking forward to more of his older brother's tantrums, not to mention he had no clue when he would go home to his mother. _She's probably worried sick…_ Matenshi thought. _I wish she'd summon me, but I bet the stupid watch signal wouldn't even reach me here…_

Matenshi was snapped out of his thoughts by the door to the room opening. His head swiveled toward the door, his lips parted in mild surprise.

An older yokai woman had entered the room, dressed in a maid uniform with a ghostly tail trailing behind her. Her hair was bright pink and her eyes were sparkling, her face decorated with a warm, kind smile.

"Oh, you're awake!" The lady sounded excited, folding her hands beneath her chin. "I'm so excited to meet you, sweetheart! My name is Gattenmeier, but you can call me Granny." She floated to the bedside, giggling a bit. "That's what that older brother of yours calls me, after all."

"You're our grandma?!" Matenshi gaped at her. Gattenmeier giggled again and shook her head.

"No, no. In name only. Your big brother was so little when he became a yokai, I ran into him one day and I took him in. He's been in my care ever since," Gattenmeier curtsied, her smile growing wider. "It's so wonderful to meet you, little prince."

 _Oh, right, I'm a prince…_ Matenshi looked down at his tiny little fists, clenched around the bedsheets. This was gonna take some getting used to.

Gattenmeier reached forward and cupped Matenshi's cheek, turning his face back to her. Letting out a wistful, fond sigh, she said: "Oh, you look so much like my sweet little Matenou did at your age. He was quite a bit chubbier, though. But you're just as cute as he was!" Gattenmeier withdrew her hand after lightly pinching Matenshi's cheek. "The resemblance is so uncanny, with those curls and that adorable cherubic face, I was _sure_ you were his son! I scolded him for a good ten minutes about his philandering before he corrected me!"

Matenshi wasn't sure what philandering meant, but he was impressed that Matenou actually let her speak for more than two seconds. This woman was more powerful than she looked!

"Sweet Matenou, bless his heart, told me to get you and your little friend ready. I'm preparing a change of clothes as well as breakfast. Do you have any preference, little prince?" Gattenmeier smiled and adjusted her glasses, looking at Matenshi expectantly.

Matenshi's stomach growled in response and he turned pink. "Honestly, I could eat _anything_ right now. Make whatever you want, Granny."

Gattenmeier clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes filling with tears.

"What-WAUGH!" Matenshi was whisked into Gattenmeier's arms, his still sleep-addled brain spinning with confusion. Gattenmeier sobbed into his shoulder, hugging him tight. "What's going on?! What are you doing?!" Matenshi was getting REALLY sick of being picked up without warning.

"I'm-I'm sorry, I…" Gattenmeier swallowed, shifting Matenshi to a more comfortable position so she could look into his eyes. "You called me Granny! Already! And you even sound like darling Matenou did at that age… ohhh, you're too adorable for words, little prince!"

 _Gross,_ Matenshi didn't know much about his older brother yet, but if he was reminding this lady of Matenou, maybe Matenshi was taking the wrong path in life.

"Put me down," Matenshi demanded, squirming just a little bit. Dang it, if this had been Matenou he could kick him or something. Matenshi wasn't an old lady kicker.

"May I ever be of service," Gattenmeier stated, gently setting Matenshi back down on the bed. Wiping her tears with the hem of her apron, Gattenmeier added: "A-apologies. Didn't mean to make a fool of myself."

"No problem…?" Matenshi tilted his head, still as confused as ever. He couldn't believe he met two crazy people in less than 24 hours.

"I'd hate to keep the king waiting. If he waits too long he gets a tummyache and gets really gassy, we don't need that today," Gattenmeier's brow furrowed with concern and Matenshi covered his mouth to suppress a snicker. "I hope I can find clothes in you and your little friend's size…"

"Zashiki likes dresses," Matenshi nodded in the snoring young god's direction. "Just so you know. I… usually just wear this, so..." Matenshi pulled at his belt, which had become crooked while he was asleep.

Gattenmeier ruffled Matenshi's curls and said: "Don't be ridiculous. You slept in those clothes! And besides, you're a prince now. Can't be presented to the kingdom in something so wrinkled!"

Matenshi sighed, which just made Gattenmeier's eyes all shimmery again. "Ohh, you really are so much like my Matenou." She leaned forward and gave Matenshi a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll let you and your friend know when everything is all set. Toodles~"

Matenshi let out the biggest groan of his life and flopped back onto the bed, his curls thumping against the pillow. He squeezed his eyes shut and smacked his head against the pillow again.

Zashiki started stirring and sighed a bit before sitting up in bed. Matenshi opened on eye and rolled it towards him. "Hey."

After a yawn, Zashiki tilted his little head at his friend, shifting the pillow he was hugging so his chin was resting on it. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Matenshi rolled over and folded his arms.

"Matenshi, I can _feel_ how angry you are," Zashiki insisted.

"Okay, fine," Matenshi didn't have the patience to keep denying his rage. "Some lady came in, apparently she took care of my stupid big brother when he was a stupid idiot kid. She kept saying I was a lot like him at that age." Matenshi blew a raspberry. "She doesn't know anything."

"Well, you are related…" Zashiki shrugged. Matenshi's head snapped in Zashiki's direction, his eyes burning with the flaming anger of ten thousand hells. _"But_ maybe she was imagining it since she raised him. She's probably just excited to meet you."

The flames in Matenshi's eyes extinguished and he heaved another sigh. "You're too smart."

"Just trying to help." Zashiki grinned.

Matenshi sat up and was ready to ask Zashiki if he wanted to sneak off when the door swung open again, revealing a beaming Gattenmeier.

"Thought I heard chattering in here! Perfect timing, breakfast is ready~" Gattenmeier gestured for the two boys to follow her. "Come on, we mustn't keep the king waiting." A shadow suddenly fell over her face. " _Seriously."_


	5. A Good Big Brother

Breakfast was pretty uneventful, apart from Matenou being the fastest eater Matenshi had ever seen in his life, and the food being _amazing._ Matenshi loved his mother, but her cooking didn't even come close to what Matenou's servants could do. There were definitely perks to being royalty.

Gattenmeier had gone above and beyond what Matenshi asked. He had expected her to bring Zashiki two or three dresses to pick from, but she had brought him a veritable truckload. Zashiki insisted Matenshi help him pick one out, and Matenshi grumbled, but complied. He didn't have anything better to do anyway, and he'd probably get lost in the castle. Before they went through too many though, Gattenmeier returned and took Matenshi back into the guest room to give him his change of clothes.

Matenshi changed into a dark purple tunic trimmed with white that was made of fancier material than what he normally wore. It was comfortable and fit him perfectly, so he had no gripes about it.

"This from when my brother was young?" Matenshi asked, tugging at the hem.

Gattenmeier clicked her tongue a bit. "No… no, he still wears it now."

Matenshi gave her a stare of complete disbelief and she shook her head. "Well, it definitely fits you much better, little prince. You look absolutely adorable! Your people will be very impressed!" Gattenmeier beamed before she pulled open a drawer beneath the room's vanity mirror and started rooting through it. Matenshi wasn't sure if he imagined it, but he thought he heard her mumble "...if they can all stand still for long enough…"

Matenshi wished he was more surprised that his brother's clothes fit him, but he honestly wasn't. He didn't know why his brother strolled around in clothing meant for husky children, but he hoped he'd never find out.

"Aha!" Gattenmeier pulled a hairbrush out of the drawer and gestured for Matenshi to come over. After two agonizingly long minutes of trying to tame Matenshi's curls, Gattenmeier gave up. Matenshi was grateful; he was getting antsy.

"Okay, your big brother should be ready to introduce you to everyone. Let's go find him!" With that, Gattenmeier gently took Matenshi's hand and led him into the hall.

Matenshi had expected being introduced to the kingdom to be more… grandiose, but it consisted of Matenou holding him aloft from a balcony and yelling

"HEY, EVERYONE! I found my little brother, so… there's a prince now! Okay, bye!" before swooping back into the castle hallway, clutching Matenshi to his chest.

Matenshi wasn't gonna gripe, though, he hated big long ceremonies.

"Can I go home now? Matenshi leaned his head back, looking at his brother upside down. _Eugh, I can see up his nose._

"No," Matenou stated simply, keeping his eyes ahead.

Matenshi pouted. "Why not?!"

"Because I said so," Matenou's tone was final. Matenshi may have imagined it, but he could have sworn Matenou was clutching him a little bit harder.

Matenshi wasn't having that. He swung his foot forward and then slammed it backwards, smashing his heel right into his brother's junk.

Matenou shrieked like a bat out of hell and dropped Matenshi before crumpling to the ground himself. Matenshi flapped his little wings to keep from falling too fast, brushing himself off as soon as he hit the floor. A young maid had been floating by when Matenshi kicked his brother, and she had stopped when Matenou screamed, her eyes wide and her hand over her mouth. Matenshi suddenly felt a pang in his chest; God, he didn't wanna get in trouble.

The maid didn't scold him, though. She shook her head and snickered a bit, going on her way. Matenshi decided he liked that maid.

Zashiki came scrambling around the corner, his dress swirling in his nervous frenzy and his staff outstretched. "Is someone hurt?! Who's hurt?!" His voice was squeaky with concern.

Matenou was curled into the fetal position, his hands between his legs and his face contorted in pain. Matenshi gave Zashiki a sheepish shrug and said: "He wouldn't put me down so I had to kick his weiner."

"T-treason… that's treason…" Matenou's voice was strained. "You're… in my kingdom now! I should throw you in the dungeon for this, you little brat!" Matenou's face was purple with rage; he glared daggers at his brother from his place on the floor. Matenshi took a step back, his eyes widening.

"No, no, no!" Zashiki raised his staff in the air and it glowed brightly. Matenou's glare completely relaxed and he shut his eyes.

"Matenshi! Little brother~" Matenou rolled over onto his back and beamed at Matenshi. "You're adorable!"

Zashiki let out an enormous sigh of relief.

 _Giant idiot's completely blocking the hallway…_ Matenshi rolled his eyes. _But at least he's not yelling anymore._

"Did you _really_ have to kick him?" Zashiki furrowed his brow at Matenshi.

"He wouldn't listen to me," Matenshi folded his arms and stuck out his lower lip. "He doesn't listen to _anyone._ Such a pain…"

Matenou laughed, moving to a sitting position and crossing his legs tailor style. "I know, right? I'm the worst!"

"Can you just inspirit him all the time?" Matenshi asked. Zashiki chuckled and hugged his staff.

"Your brother's a really powerful yokai, you know! Hard to keep hold on him. But I'm doing my best!" Zashiki was a little bit sweaty but he still wore his usual wide smile.

Matenshi didn't even think of that… but Zashiki was right. Matenou definitely had Matenshi beat in the inspiriting department; the chaos he created last night was the kind of stuff you'd hear about in Usurakage tribe legends.

"Hey, Matenshi?" Matenou leaned forward, tilting his head like a big, weird bird. "Can I ask you something?"

"I guess…" Matenshi shrugged.

"Do you think I'm-" Matenou's smile disappeared and he blinked, shaking his head around. "Ugh… what was I saying?"

Matenshi looked over at Zashiki, who mouthed "Sorry…" at him.

"Ah, well. It probably wasn't important." Matenou stood up and raised his arms over his head, making a really weird noise while he stretched. "You kids are-"

Suddenly, a loud voice filled the hallway.

(MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-)

A voice Matenshi knew all too well.

(-TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN-)

 _But why would-?!_

(-SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!)

Before Matenshi could truly comprehend what was happening, a blazingly bright red streak flew down the hallway and swept him up in a gigantic, too-warm hug.

(THERE you are! I was tearing this place apart looking for you!) The yokai mercifully released him from the tight embrace, but kept his hands on Matenshi's shoulders as he shot him a giant, sharp-toothed grin. It was Meramelion, Matenshi's adoptive older brother. _What was_ _he_ _doing here?!_ (Ma is _so_ worried, Matenshi! Her watch signal couldn't reach you!)

"H-how'd you find me?!" Matenshi's head was still spinning from the shock of the sudden hug.

(Got this dope app on the Yokai Pad!) Meramelion pulled it out and pointed to an icon on the home menu. (All I gotta do is stick your medal in here and I'll know where you are! Ma got chips put into all our medals so she'll be able to keep tabs on us!)

"Of course she did…" Matenshi shook his head, but he wore a little smile. "Is Mom okay? She was-"

"Wait, why are you both saying 'mom' and 'ma?'" Matenou muscled into the conversation, stepping over Zashiki Warashin to loom over the two other boys, his arms folded and his eyes squinted with suspicion.

"Uh, duh, we have the same mom," Matenshi rolled his eyes. "I _told_ you I was adopted! I have siblings, too! This is my big brother, Meramelion. Everyone calls him Mera, though."

"Big brother…?" Matenou's glare let up and he crooked an eyebrow at Meramelion. "So, you're his _fake_ big brother, then?"

Mera didn't even register Matenou's biting comment. He was too busy looking up at Matenou in awe, his eyes sparkling and his jaw agape.

(Matenshi…) Meramelion didn't take his eyes off Matenou, his flames crackling just a bit hotter. (Who is _this?!)_

"My b-" Before Matenshi could answer Mera's question, Mera began running around Matenou, even climbing onto him, looking at him from every angle. He was back to his top speed, looking like a red, flaming blur as he swept Matenou up in his tornado of energy.

Matenshi and Zashiki Warashin shared a wary glance, the latter getting his staff ready just in case.

Tornado Mera began his thunderous barrage of questions.

(I've never seen a body like _yours_ before! What's your workout regimen?! I _totes_ wanna copy it! You're so tall, too! How did you get so tall? Did you drink a lot of milk? OOH, what about your diet? NO NO NO I wanna know about your workout equipment! What do you use? There's noooooooo way you'd be able to get a body like THIS by just standing around!) Tornado Mera finally calmed; he ended his frenzy on Matenou's shoulders, standing right on them as he sat on Matenou's head, looking down at his back. (Let me see your lats! I really need to work on mine, so I need a point of ref-)

Matenou made a noise like a cow giving birth to a fully grown bull and plucked Meramelion off his shoulders, holding him up by the back of his shirt.

Matenou glared daggers, spears, and harpoons right into Meramelion's eyes, but Mera just gave him a big, bright grin. (So, can I see your lats?)

"I'm a _KING!_ You can't just climb on a king!" Matenou leaned forward so he was nose-to-nose with Mera. "And how the _hell_ did you get in my castle?!"

(I'm buds with lots of Mirapos! One of 'em knew where Matenshi was so I hit 'em up!) Meramelion swung his dangling legs, still smiling. (Speaking of my lil bro, though… looking at you so close… you look a lot like him!)

"PFFT," Matenou's attractive noise led to him spitting right onto Meramelion's face. "That's because he's my _brother._ My _real brother,_ my flesh and blood brother. Not my _fake brother._ "

"Stop saying brother," Matenshi grumbled.

(Noooo way! For realsies?!) Mera's eyes became even bigger and sparkled brighter, which Matenshi didn't even think was possible at this point. (I had no idea Matenshi had a blood brother!) Meramelion turned his sparkling gaze towards Matenshi, his grin widening. (Just like how I have three big brothers too, huh, Matenshi? Why'd ya just learn about him now, though? Did you run into him when you were out inspiriting?)

"Mm-hmm," Matenshi nodded.

(Ohhh, I wish I could have seen your reunion! I bet it was great!) Meramelion folded his hands under his chin and turned back to Matenou. (Was it great?)

Matenou responded by dropping Mera onto the carpet. Mera landed perfectly on his feet with his arms out, beaming like he just had the time of his life.

"Speaking of reunions, can I go home to my mom now?" Matenshi folded his arms and squinted up at Matenou. "'Because you said so' isn't a good reason for me to stay."

(Why wouldn't you wanna hang out with your brother?!) Mera gaped at Matenshi. Zashiki Warashin leaned around Matenou's legs and drew his finger across his throat, shaking his head at Mera to warn him to stop.

Matenshi turned a little pink and scowled, but paid Mera no mind.

"W-well, you didn't even explore the kingdom yet!" Matenou put his hands on his hips and leaned forward, making eye contact with Matenshi. "Don't you wanna do that?! You're the prince of this place and you've never even been outside the castle!"

"That's your fault, not mine," Matenshi eyed his brother with undisguised disdain. "But yeah… I am kinda curious. I'll go explore a bit… without you."

Matenou's eyes widened for a moment and Matenshi saw a flash of _something_ in his expression, but it quickly went away. Matenou straightened up and adjusted one of the sleeves of his toga, averting his eyes from Matenshi. "Fine, but like hell I'm sending you out unguarded."

Meramelion chuckled, slicking his mane back with a hand before folding his arms. (Who needs a guard-) He burst into a series of kung fu poses, each more impressive than the last, or so Mera thought. He topped it all off with a backflip and a palm thrust, grinning at Matenou. (-when you have me?)

"What the f-" Matenou topped off his sentence with a word Matenshi wasn't allowed to say.

(I'm trained in three kinds of martial arts!) Meramelion grinned. (Plus I can do this!) He held out his palm, a fireball appearing in his hand.

"Be careful!" Zashiki squeaked.

(So you have nothin' to worry about, dude!) The fire in Meramelion's hand disappeared and he pointed at himself with his thumb. (Matenshi and Zashiki are in safe hands!)

"Okay, first of all, don't call me dude, call me 'Your Majesty' or something," Matenou crouched down so he was at Meramelion's level.

(Ah, sorry, Your Majesty!) Meramelion bowed a little. Matenshi rolled his eyes so hard his head went with them.

"And second of all, you're a little kid! I can't send three little kids out on their own!" Matenou rested his hand on his chest. "You need adult supervision."

Meramelion frowned a bit, the flames in his eyes igniting. (I'm not a little kid! I'm a teenager!)

Matenou cocked a brow in disbelief.

(I'm fourteen! Almost fifteen!) Meramelion insisted, his hands clenching into fists.

"I'm gonna need to see some I.D.," Matenou held out a palm.

"Hey!" Matenshi jumped onto his brother's back, figuring that would be the only way to get his attention. Matenshi wrapped his arms around Matenou's neck as he jumped back up to his full height in surprise. "What happened to being the 'king of impatience?!' I've never seen _anyone_ beat around the bush like this! I'm sick of waiting, I wanna go outside already!"

Matenou huffed a sigh. "Okay! OKAY! Fine!" He picked Matenshi up off his shoulders and crouched down to place him on the floor. "Have fun and don't go too far. There's plenty of stuff near the castle. Oh, and come back here before it gets too dark."

 _Sounding like an actual big brother now, huh?_ Matenshi was almost amused. "Okay, got it!" Grabbing onto Zashiki's hand, he pulled him over to Mera, who quickly took Matenshi's other hand.

(I'll keep our little brother safe, Your Majesty!) Meramelion gave Matenou a two fingered salute before turning his attention back to the other two kids.

Matenou looked after the three until they disappeared around a corner. Matenou felt… _something_ in his chest. It was weird… it wasn't something he ever remembered feeling before.

He really, _really_ didn't like it. He needed to get to his room before he made a fool of himself…!

Matenou spread his wings and took off down the hallway at top speed, knocking over at least five workers in his haste. He shoved open the doors to his room, slammed them behind them, threw himself onto his bed, and drew his knees up to his chest, burying his face in them.

It wasn't long before he heard someone crack the door open. "Why are you bothering me…?" He couldn't find it in his heart to yell. What was _WRONG_ with him?!

"Matenou…"

Matenou lifted his head up, his eyes rimmed in red, but he wasn't crying. _He wasn't gonna cry._ "What do you want, Granny?"

"You know I can always tell when you're upset," Gattenmeier gave Matenou a warm smile. "Ever since you were a little boy. What kind of nanny would I be otherwise?"

"Should have known…" Matenou rested his cheek against his drawn up knees.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Gattenmeier flew to Matenou's side and kneeled down next to him. "The last time I saw you like this was…" Gattenmeier stroked her chin as she tried to recall. "Gosh, you were a teenager. You didn't even tell me what was wrong…"

Matenou remembered that. _He didn't want to remember that…_

"It's about Matenshi," Matenou sighed. "I'm just… UGH! I keep being mean to him and I can't stop myself!" Matenou slammed his fist into the bed. "I'm! So! Sick! Of! This!" He punctuated each word with another punch to his mattress.

"Sweetie, sweetie, calm down!" Gattenmeier wrapped her arms around Matenou. "You're just… a difficult person, love."

"What's that mean?" Matenou turned to Gattenmeier and squinted right into her eyes.

"Well, you always react to things with…" Gattenmeier mused for a moment, realizing she should choose her words carefully. "...anger. And you've never dealt with a child before."

Matenou huffed again. "You're right."  
"Aren't I always?" Gattenmeier cupped Matenou's cheek and turned his face back towards her. "But… you never told me you had a brother before today. Why would you keep a secret like that?"

"That's because…" Matenou gently took Gattenmeier's hand off of his cheek and buried his face in his knees again. "...I thought he was alive."

"Why did you think that?" Gattenmeier asked. She had a heavy feeling in her heart… she had a feeling the answer would be hard to swallow.

Matenou lifted his head from his knees, a faraway look in his eyes. "When I was younger, I used to check up on my parents every so often. I was worried I'd… forget 'em, you know? They weren't very good parents… they were young when they had me and they didn't realize how sick I was before I… well, you know."

Gattenmeier silently moved closer to Matenou, gently putting her arm around his broad shoulders.

"My visits got further and further apart as I got older, but one day I had an urge to go back. I got there as fast as I could, just in time to see my parents lugging a baby carrier outside. I couldn't believe they had another kid… sixteen years after me, even. But they clearly didn't want the kid. They looked all panicked and Dad was crying. I followed them in the air while they drove the car to this really fancy neighborhood, and they just… dropped the kid off on a doorstep. Then they ran back to the car and didn't even look over their shoulders."

Matenou sighed again, closing his eyes. "I… wasn't sure how I felt then. Confused? Angry? I didn't know anything about kids, but I knew what they did was horrible."

"They were unfit to be parents," Gattenmeier's stomach churned at the thought of Matenou's blood family. "Still… that's no excuse for leaving a baby on a doorstep."

Matenou made a noise of agreement before continuing. "Curiosity got the better of me… I went over to the kid. God, Granny, he wasn't even a week old. His eyes were all blurry and teary looking, and he was so small. I never saw a human that small before. But… yeah, that was Matenshi. Even if he was just born, he still had those curls." Matenou wound the tip of his head wing around his finger as he spoke. "I made myself visible to him and he ended up grabbing my finger. He looked so lost… I felt like if I stayed any longer I would have snatched him up and brought him back to the Yokai World… but that's illegal. I got out of there before I got too attached, but as soon as he let go of my finger, he started crying…" Matenou's voice cracked.

Gattenmeier was crying herself, wiping her tears with the hem of her apron.

"I thought someone took him in, I was _so sure_ , but I never checked," Matenou shook his head. "But he died. He ended up _dying!_ I could have stopped it, Granny!" Matenou's eyes filled up with fat tears. "Now he's a yokai. A yokai that _hates_ me!" Matenou clung to Gattenmeier and bawled into her shirt, his heart a storm of anger and hurt. "I'll _never_ be a good big brother! I wasn't back then, and I won't be in the future!"

"Matenou, get ahold of yourself!" Gattenmeier lifted Matenou's chin so she could look right into his red-rimmed eyes. "You're _not_ going to become a better sibling overnight. You just met your baby brother. You know nothing about each other. You're siblings, but you're strangers. It'll take time before you two know how to deal with each other!"

"No, I have to become a good brother before he leaves! I don't wanna wait!" Matenou tried to move away from Gattenmeier but she cupped his cheeks, trapping his face in place.

"Matenou. The little prince is a person, just like you. This isn't a matter of waiting," Gattenmeier wiped Matenou's tears away with her thumbs. "It's a matter of family. You need to get used to each other."

"Yeah, but he has that dumb mom of his he won't shut up about…" Matenou scowled through his tears. "Once he's back to her and his fake brothers, he's gonna toss me to the wind."

"You don't know that."

"I have a feeling," Matenou's expression became downcast.

"It sounds to me like you need to have a chat with the little prince," Gattenmeier released Matenou and primly folded her hands on her lap. "One-on-one. No one else. No matter what he says."

"I'm just gonna be a dick again," Matenou grumbled. Gattenmeier lightly slapped his wrist.

"Language!" she chastised.

"Sorry," Matenou sniffled and wiped his dripping nose on his arm.

"Maybe you should let Matenshi do the talking," Gattenmeier suggested. "You rarely let him get in a word, darling."

"Yeah, you're right…" Matenou straightened his toga; it had gotten in disarray in his high speed jetting back to his room. "You're always right."

"Oh!" Gattenmeier pounded her fist into her open palm. "I just got a great idea for how you two can bond!"

Matenou let a chuckle slip, leaning his head on Gattenmeier's shoulder. "You're the best, Granny. But don't leave me hanging!"

"Of course not," Gattenmeier smiled down at her adoptive grandson, resting her hand on his back. "Okay, here's what you should do!"


	6. Takeoff

Matenou had to wait a long, long, LONG time for Matenshi to get back. He spent most of it aimlessly flying in circles around the outside of the castle, grumbling to himself about this and that, hoping to get all of his negative energy out before he spent time with his younger brother.

Matenou saw Matenshi and the other two kids approaching the castle gates, and he swooped down without hesitation to meet them.

"AAH!" Matenshi jumped when his brother suddenly appeared in front of them, kicking up dust as he landed. "What do _you_ want?" Matenshi folded his arms and squinted into Matenou's eyes.

(Uh-uh. What did I tell you?) Meramelion waggled his finger at Matenshi, raising his arm effortlessly despite the shopping bags weighing it down.

Matenshi stuck his tongue out at Mera in response.

Zashiki looked back and forth between the two of them and sighed a bit, gripping onto his staff nervously. He hated bickering, and he had more than his fill of it in the last 24 hours.

"Look, I'm gonna cut right to the chase, I need to talk to you," Matenou crouched down and gave his brother what he hoped was a pleading look.

"You 'need' to take me home," Matenshi rested his fists on his hips and leaned forward until he was practically nose to nose with Matenou. "I explored the dumb kingdom, so now you're supposed to take me home!"

"Hey, listen up, you little-" Matenou ground his teeth, but caught himself, taking a deep breath as he gently pushed Matenshi's face away. "It's important."

"No way," Matenshi puffed out his cheeks and pointedly stuck up his nose.

Matenou sighed in resignation and Zashiki felt a twinge in his heart. He couldn't help but feel for the guy… and he wasn't the only one. Zashiki glanced quickly at Meramelion, who had his hand over his mouth, desperately trying not to yell at Matenshi to give his brother a chance.

 _Only one thing to do!_ Zashiki squared his shoulders and held his staff aloft. Even in daylight, it glowed brightly, and Zashiki inspirited Matenshi with ease.

Matenshi's body relaxed and he turned to Matenou, a small smile on his face. "Okay, fine, where did you wanna talk, big brother?"

Meramelion and Zashiki Warashin grinned at each other and high fived.

"Yesss...!" Matenou celebrated under his breath, pumping his fist. "Oh, here, get on my back!" Matenou turned around and gestured to right above where his wings were sprouting.

"Are we gonna fly?" Matenshi asked, hopping onto Matenou.

"Oh, you bet!" Matenou flapped his wings until he was a few inches off the ground, positioning his body horizontally so Matenshi could adjust himself. Matenshi sat right on his brother's shoulder blades, gripping onto Matenou's hair for support. "Hang on tight, I don't fly slow!" Matenou looked over his shoulder to give his brother a little grin. Without even acknowledging Zashiki or Meramelion, Matenou flapped his wings and took off into the air, kicking up a wind that nearly blew Meramelion's mane out.

Zashiki's staff stopped glowing and he let it fall to his side. "Do you think they'll be okay?" he asked, watching Matenou speed off.

('Course I do!) Meramelion flashed Zashiki a sharp-toothed grin and a big thumbs up.

"..." Zashiki eyed the gate, his brow furrowing. "... do you think they'll let us back in the castle?"

Meramelion's grin faltered for a moment, but it quickly returned. (...well, we won't know unless we try!)

Zashiki couldn't help letting a laugh slip. Meramelion's optimism was infectious!

"Why did you take me up here?!" Matenshi's heart was pounding hard; he never really considered himself afraid of heights, but being this high up and only supported by two fistfuls of his brother's hair was nerve wracking.

"Look, I'm not the 'sit still and talk' type, and I know you aren't either," Matenou kept his eyes ahead, both sets of his wings spread wide as he glided through the air. "I thought it'd be better if we were in motion. Keeps me from getting antsy, and I don't wanna snap at you."

"That's new," Matenshi grumbled.

"I don't know how to deal with kids, okay?!" Matenou huffed.

"I thought you said you weren't gonna snap at me!" Matenshi pouted, pulling on his brother's hair.

"Ow ow ow ow, don't!" Matenou hissed, clenching his teeth. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, okay?!"

"Hmph…" Matenshi's pout didn't go away, but he stopped tugging his brother's curls.

"I'll just cut to the chase… as much as I want you to stay here, I know you don't wanna." Matenou quickly glanced over his shoulder at Matenshi.

"Heck no!" Matenshi stuck his tongue out.

"... but I do really wanna catch up with you, kid." Matenou confessed, his cheeks tinged with an embarrassed red. "Maybe I could come live with you and your family."

" _Heck_ no!" Matenshi shook his head like Matenou just asked him if he wanted to be thrown into a pit of acid.

"Thanks for letting me down easy…" Matenou snickered in spite of himself.

"No, no! Do you know how many siblings I have?" Matenshi shuddered at the thought of them having to deal with Matenou. "Some of them are super young! I have a four year old brother!"

"Oh God, I'd kill them," Matenou stated plainly.

"Yeah you would!" Matenshi ducked down reflexively; the two of them were flying through a forest and the last thing Matenshi wanted was to get decapitated by a branch. Lucky for him, Matenou was a skilled flyer and he was weaving through the trees with ease.

"Wait, your mom's friend…!" Matenou's eyes lit up. "Maybe I could go live with her! She lives really close to your mom! Plus that yokai roommate of hers…" Matenou couldn't help grinning. "She's cute, so, bonus!"

"Fuumin likes girls, Matenou," Matenshi rolled his eyes. "Even _I_ know that."

"Eh," Matenou's grin didn't go away. "Win some, lose some."

"Also, Car already has a _ton_ of yokai living with her," Matenshi mentally flipped through all their faces. "Plus you were super mean when you met her."

"She'd let me live there if a cute little boy asked her nicely," Matenou swooped lower as the two of them exited the forest, moving over a sweeping meadow filled with the eldritch flora of the yokai world. "I don't wanna keep being a di-um, a jerk to you, kid. Maybe it _is_ better if we don't live together."

"Aren't you a king, though?" Matenshi asked, his eyes widening as one of the plants' vines shot up towards Matenou's ankle. Matenou pointed a finger at it and the vine was swiftly torn apart by a whirlwind. Matenshi couldn't help thinking that was cool… his brother really _was_ a strong yokai…

"They'll be fine without me, I'm more of a figurehead than anything," Matenou snickered. "If I need to do any royal stuff, I'll just come back here for a little bit. It never, ever takes long. That's the beauty of my realm!"

"Okay, I'll ask her for you… and Zashiki can help out too," Matenshi sighed. "I kinda… I kinda wanna get along with you too. It's much better than fighting all the time."

For once in his life, Matenou was at a loss for words. He let a smile cross his lips and he turned to look at Matenshi. "I think so too."


	7. Changes

The two brothers arrived back in the castle with Matenshi riding on Matenou's shoulders, leaning his chin right on Matenou's fluffy mess of curls. They found Zashiki Warashin and Meramelion with Gattenmeier in one of the sitting rooms, Gattenmeier fawning over both of them.

"Ohh, Matenou, you should have told me we had another guest sooner!" Gattenmeier cupped the giggling Meramelion's cheeks in her hands, smooshing them gently. "This little guy is just _precious!_ Oh, you're spoiling me with all of the cute kids that wound up in the castle today, darling!"

(Thanks for letting us hang out here, Your Highness!) Meramelion grinned at Matenou.

"You barged in without my permission, you little fire hazard," Matenou cocked a brow at Meramelion, but Meramelion didn't hear him, he was completely caught up in Gattenmeier's fawning.

"C'mon, tell them already!" Matenshi tugged at Matenou's hair and Matenou shouted in pain.

"Okay, okay! Yeesh, don't pull my hair!" Matenou reached up and gently swatted Matenshi's hands away. Matenou pointed at his bare chest with his thumb and grinned. "Zucchini Watermelon, I'm movin' in with you!"

Zashiki's lips parted as he gazed at Matenou. Matenou smirked; must be a lot for the little guy to take in. I mean, he'd have the coolest roommate ever!

Zashiki opened his eyes for one brief moment before turning to Matenshi and saying "Why?"

Matenshi shrugged, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Aw, come on. I gotta keep an eye on the little guy," Matenou reached up to ruffle Matenshi's hair. He did it a bit too hard and wound up knocking Matenshi's halo askew. "But if I lived with him we'd kill each other!"

"Yeah we would," Matenshi struggled to straighten his halo out and keep his balance at the same time.

Zashiki sighed. Looks like he'd have to do a lot of inspiriting if Car actually agreed to let this guy in…

"You coming, Granny?" Matenou smiled surprisingly gently at Gattenmeier, who stopped fawning over Meramelion to give Matenou a serious look.

"Darling, you're twenty-three now. You stopped physically aging! I think it's time you try living without someone always at your beck and call," Gattenmeier smoothed her apron. "...but, if someone close by to this Car person is willing to take me in, I'll still be able to keep an eye on you."

"You're not gonna make me try and stay?!" Matenou was completely taken aback.

"You know what's best for yourself, love," Gattenmeier stopped fawning over Meramelion and floated to Matenou's side. "I trust you."

"You shouldn't," Matenshi chimed in. Matenou smacked him with one of his head wings.

"Did you say something, sweetheart?" Gattenmeier asked.

Matenou shoved one of the wings on his head right into Matenshi's mouth. "Nope, he didn't say anything, Granny!" Matenou beamed at her while Matenshi spat out his wing, spluttering and coughing.

"Well, I believe in you two…" Gattenmeier squeezed Matenou's hand. "But, if you two are ever going to get along better, you're going to need to be-"

"Patient?" Matenou and Matenshi finished in unison. The two of them looked at each other and stuck out their tongues, feigning gags before bursting into laughter.

Matenou flipped Matenshi off his shoulders and hugged him to his chest, smushing his cheek against Matenshi's hair.

"Gross! Gross, hey!" Matenshi punched Matenou's chest, but all Matenou did was laugh.

Matenou held out his brother at arm's length and grinned at him. "I'm glad I found you."

"You're gonna make me barf," Matenshi squirmed, but that only prompted Matenou to hug him again.

Gattenmeier scrambled through her pockets, desperately searching for her phone so she could snap a picture.

Meramelion and Zashiki watched with amusement from the couch as Matenshi struggled to escape from the confines of brotherly affection.

(You inspiriting the big guy?) Meramelion jerked his head in Matenou's direction.

"No, actually!" Zashiki smiled at his bell staff. "Guess they're well on their way!"

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" Matenshi threatened as Matenou put him in a headlock and rubbed his knuckle on his scalp, noogieing him to hell and back.

"Maybe I spoke too soon…" Zashiki nervously chewed on a thumbnail.

Matenou finally stopped when Matenshi once again slammed his foot into Matenou's groin. "AGH!"

"Oh dear!" Gattenmeier fussed over Matenou who was curled up into a ball of pain and suffering, tears pricking the corners of his eyes.

Matenshi dusted off his tunic and blew a raspberry at his brother.

"I'm… gonna have to get used to this… aren't I?" Matenou squeaked.

"Do you need ice for your-" Gattenmeier had her hands over her mouth, fluttering around Matenou in her worry.

"I'm FINE, Granny," Matenou squeezed his eyes shut, his face bright red.

While Gattenmeier fussed, Matenshi headed over to the couch and took the spot between Meramelion and Zashiki.

(Things are gonna get real different, huh?) Meramelion put his arm around Matenshi and pulled him close. (Think you can handle it?)

"I'll be fine," Matenshi yawned and rested his head against the fluffy fur on Meramelion's chest. "Too much happened lately. I just wanna go home." Matenshi gently jostled Zashiki's leg with his foot to get his attention. "You gonna be okay with my dumb brother in your house?"

"I'll do my best," Zashiki grinned. "Besides, it'll be a good chance to practice my inspirits."

(That's the right attitude!) Meramelion pumped a fist in the air, beaming at Zashiki. (And hey, lil bro, if you need any advice, I'm always here for ya!)

"I know," Matenshi couldn't help catching Meramelion's infectious grin.

"Hey, I'm gonna go get ready!" Matenou, now fully recovered, put his hands on his hips and gave his brother a half smile. "I won't keep you waiting too long!"

"You better not!" Matenshi waved Matenou off.

Matenou took off down the hall like a blue bullet, knocking poor Gattenmeier's glasses askew.

"You gather your things up too, darlings," Gattenmeier straightened her glasses, a serene smile on her face. Matenshi figured Matenou accidentally knocking her around happened a lot. "Let me know if you need anything, little prince," Gattenmeier curtsied at Matenshi before following after Matenou, fretting under her breath about his future.

The three children jumped off the couch, hand in hand. Zashiki and Matenshi shared a nervous smile.

"Well, I'm ready to get outta here," Matenshi walked ahead, pulling on his two companions' hands. "C'mon, c'mon!"

(I'm ready too!) Meramelion let go of Matenshi and Zashiki's hands and picked both of them up, letting each of them sit on his shoulders while he supported them with his biceps. (Let's goooooo!) Not even bothered by the weight of the two kids, Meramelion took off down the hallway, laughing as he went.

As Matenshi enjoyed the ride, he felt his stomach knot up with a mixture of anxiety and just a bit of excitement.

 _Life is crazy,_ Matenshi couldn't help laughing as he rested his cheek against his older brother's warm mane.

Things were gonna be really different from now on.

 _THE END_


End file.
